DA Polisher Noob questions

[techy]

HI guys,

I'm looking to do a detailing project on my car this weekend. it does require a god bit of work as it has been neglected for some time. I'm detailing on a budget (well looking at how much i've spent so far, i would say sort of).

Here's what i've picked up so far:
meguiar's da power system ( I got the polish, wax and compounding pad as well)
meguiar's Ultimate compound
Chemical Guys FP Polish
Chemical guys 93 pete's black perl wax
touch up paint
Clay bar
1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper


need to order today:
chemical guys lubber
chemical guys trim gel
applicator pad for applying to doors and hard to reach.


Car is a 2008 bmw 328i black sapphire metallic. some deep scratches and a the paint looks a bit dull. well atleast to me most people tell me I take really good care of my car but not imo.

so the questions.

I was recently told to return the Ultimate compound and go with meguiar's 105 and 205. would this be ok to use with the DA Power system? could I use the same pads or should I go with the lake head 4 inch pads. considering my level of detailing would it be recommended to go with the 105 and 205? If I do well with this i will then opt out to get a better DA but i figured this might be good for me to get my feet wet and know what i'm looking for.

With the products I have now, would that be ok to use? the FP polish is something i had in my garage from last year ( I've wanted to detail this car since then). same with the wax.

Last question is the headlights and tail lights. From what I've read from people who have cleaned the fogs, is that they remove the fogs and sand it down. Do I have to remove them? the headlights are actually in good condition. just need to be cleaned a little so I was thinking to apply the compound to the lens first and polish to see if that can just fix it. (is that right?)


and just to ensure that I'm doing this in the right order could you help me? (i've never tried to do scratch removal before so I'm REALLY hoping this goes well).

wash
sand scratches
wash
clay
polish
wax


sorry for the long details.

[BobbyG]

First things first......:dblthumb2:

:welcome: To Autogeek Online! :props:

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound is a great product and I would not return it. Meguiar's Ultimate Polish is the finishing polish and these generally work well together. My take on these is they're the over-the-counter versions of the professional products; M105 & M205.


DA Power System

I think this should work out for you but you'll be more pleased and satisfied with a dual action polisher and appropriate backing plate and pads.

Our daily drivers are subjected to a very harsh environment. Each day the paint on our cars must endure wind, rain, sand, road grime, salt, water, sun, and much more. Although today's finishes are pretty durable they also begin to break down and do so over time.

Maintaining a finish not only keeps our cars looking their finest, it also slows down its natural degradation due to the environment.

Basic steps in order are:


Wash
Clay
Wet Sand
Paint Correction & Polish
Seal
Wax

Working by hand instils "quality" in the mind of most people. Most of us began caring for our cars finish by hand using a bucket of soapy water, a sponge, a few towels and container of wax. While certainly better than not doing anything at all, there are better ways to maintain the finish and actually make this process enjoyable.

Mike Phillips is the director of education at Autogeek. Mike has written some of the finest articles on detailing and their free for all of us to educate ourselves and enjoy..

Car detailing articles by Mike Phillips (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/23722-car-detailing-articles-mike-phillips.html)

Mike has also written a book which is available in both paperback and electronic form..

Paperback (http://www.autogeek.net/art-of-detailing-paperback-book.html)

Electronic (http://www.autogeek.net/art-of-detailing-e-book.html)


If there's one tool that should be required it's a dual action polisher. Man vs machine in this case, man loses every time. Compounding and polishing using a dual action polisher, foam pad. and product does a more thorough, more consistent, and better job....period.


Car Buffers & Polishers (http://www.autogeek.net/bupo.html)


Dual Action Polishers

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/22263-how-choose-right-polisher-your-detailing-project.html)

DA Polisher Trouble Shooting Guide (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/37769-da-polisher-trouble-shooting-guide.html)

How to prime a foam pad when using a DA Polisher (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/35292-how-prime-foam-pad-when-using-da-polisher.html)

How much product do I use with my DA Polisher? (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/26962-how-much-product-do-i-use-my-da-polisher.html)

Wet Buffing Technique (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/36237-wet-buffing-technique.html)

DA Polisher Articles - Help for Newbies to Machine Polishing (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/questions-about-porter-cable-7424xp-7424-7336-griot-s-meguiar-s-dual-action-polishers/38399-da-polisher-articles-help-newbies-machine-polishing.html)


A little on choosing the right foam pad.

Personally, I prefer using 5 1/2" foam pads on all my machines. In my opinion, the smaller pad is a perfect balance between size and efficiency. Smaller pads make controlling the polisher easier putting less stress on the machine and the user

Foam Pads (http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country-beveled-edge-pads.html)

Yellow Cutting Foam - Use this pad to apply compounds or polishes to remove severe oxidation, swirls, and scratches. It is the most aggressive and should only be used on oxidized and older finishes. Always follow this pad with an orange or white pad and a fine polish to refine the paint until it is smooth.

Orange Light Cutting Foam - Firm, high density foam for scratch and defect removal. Use this pad with polishes and swirl removers. It’s an all-around pad that will work on most light to moderate imperfections.

White Polishing Foam - Less dense foam formula for the application of waxes, micro-fine polishes and sealants. This pad has very light cutting power so it’s perfect for pre-wax cleaners.

Gray Finishing Foam Pad - Composition is firm enough to withstand added pressure during final finishing to remove buffer swirls. It has no cut and will apply thin, even coats of waxes, sealants, and glazes.

Blue Finessing Foam – Pad has soft composition for applying glaze, finishing polish, sealants, and liquid waxes. Flat pad provides full contact with paint surface to minimize the pressure applied by the user.


Product links put the finest product selection at your finger tips.

Exterior Car Care (http://www.autogeek.net/exteriorcare.html)

Interior Car Care (http://www.autogeek.net/indet.html)

[cleanmycorolla]

Here's the deal, the DA Power system, isn't going to give you lots of correction, its a great tool, but in no way a substitute for a true DA, I've used it many times for small areas, but other than that, it wont get out whatever you plan on sanding. Also, a two stage polish with small pads on your car, with just he DA Power System is going to take you a long time.

If i were you, I've wait to get a true DA then do the work....thats just me.

[trekkeruss]

I would not recommend sanding the clear coat on your vehicle; certainly not without seeing some photos and asking you if you can feel the scratches. I probably wouldn't even recommend it since this will be your first time doing any kind of correction.

I haven't used the Meg's DA Power System, but I can imagine it being very tiring to use because of a drill's ergonomics. DA polished are shaped the way they are to make them less fatiguing to use.

Compounding or polishing requires clean pads, so if you only have one of each, clean them after each section.

[techy]

hey! thanks a lot for the advise guys! Strange i didn't get any notification of any updates to this and I was about to give up hope lol... I've been on the fence all week about picking up a PC dual action, but locally we don't have many options.

I don't have pics of the scratches but yes you can feel them with so it is deeper than the clear coat.

I'm running over to our local auto store to see if they will have what I need in order to do this over the weekend but I suspect not and I'll have to do my best with the DAPS. I expect this to take a long time considering all the things I wanted to do, but needed to get my mind off of things and get away from work a bit so I think I can take my time tomorrow lol... I'll post some updates on how it goes and if I proceed with the wet sanding... I'm a bit nervous about that but been reading up watching vids and trying to collect as much info as I possibly can.

[wdmaccord]

Look into the Griot's 6" random orbital. I will admit I have yet to work on a hard german clear coat but it has done some nice work on the cars I have done. I have worked on a Mercury Mariner with a hard clear coat and Megs UC and an orange cutting pad didn't go as far as I would have liked. I finally got some MF cutting pads and am going to start learning how to use those. Might be the best bet for correcting hard clear coat.

Agree that pics of your paint would be helpful to allow us to guide you in a good direction. Take a look at all the links Bobby G put up too. I finally ended up taking a week about a year ago, with a few hours a day reading and watching videos which answered a lot of my initial questions going in.